Nvcntors



(No Model.)

W. LCHURGH & S. A. BREVE. ICE MAKING APPARTUS.

No. 529,342. Patented Nov. 13, 1894.

FTI-3.1-

INVENTS WTNESSES.'

.. z in a tank in which ice is being formed from WILLIAM LEE CHURCH, OFNEIVTON, AND SIDNEY A. REEVE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS TO THEVESTINGHOUSE, CHURCH, KERR &

COMPANY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW

lcEuiviAKlNc.

JERSEY, AND NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARTU S.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 529,34t2, datedNovember 13, 1894;.

Application filed January 30, 1894:- Serial No. 498,427- (No model.)

To au whom, it may concern/.-

Be it known that we,WILLIAit LEE CHURCH, of Newton, in the county ofMiddlesex, and SIDNEY A. REEVE, of Boston, in the county of 5 Suolk, inthe State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Ice-Making Apparatus, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to artificial ice makio ing in which a horizontaltank is employed,

provided at its bottom, with ice forming ergenerating means, thearrangement beingvsuch that the water is frozen from the bottom ofthebed upward. l

t5 This invention has for its object mainly to enable ice to be frozenin a tank in such manner as to form a series of cakes, either w-holly orpartially separated from each other, without the employment ofpartitions to separate zo the cakes, so that a number of cakes ofcommercial size may be formed in one tank, and readily separated fromeach other.

This invention also has for its object to provide an improved system ofcirculating water the bottom upward, the circulation of thewatercontinuously brushing from the surface of the ice any air bubblesthat may be eX- pelled from the ice, thus preventing said bubbles frombeingentrapped in the ice.

To these ends, the invention consists in the improvements which we willnow proceed to describe and claim.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a 3 5 part of this specification,Figure I represents a top plan view of an ice making tank embodying ourinvention. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2-2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3represents a section on line 3 3 in Fig. l.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the gures.In the drawings, a represents a horizontal tank which is of much morethan the ordinary length, and may be constructed of wood or othersuitable material. The length of the tank is sufiicient to enable aseries of cakes of ice of a commercial size to be formed simultaneouslyon the bottom of the tank, and the width of the tank may be suitable forthe tormation of one row of cakes or more than one 5o row. We have hereshown the tank as of suitable width for the formation of two rows ofcakes, the tank having a central partition a.

b b b represent a series of ice forming or generating beds, which arepreferably hollow casings adapted to receive a volatile liquid and topermit theexpansion of such liquid for the purpose of abstracting heatfrom the water in the tank. Said beds are surrounded by strips orsectionsc c composed of a material of low 6o conductivity to which icewill not adhere, a suitable material being parafne. Said sections c havetheir upper surfaces flush with the upper surfaces of the bed b, and thematerial of which they are composed not only surrounds the beds but alsoextends under the same and insulates them from the bottom of thetank.

It will be seen that when water' is placed in the tank and a volatileliquid is expanded in 7o the beds b, a freezing action will take placeon said beds in an upward direction, the ice extending laterally fromthe beds to a slight extent over the limiting sections c, the horizontalextension of the ice being due only to the passage of heat through theice itself, there being no passage of heat from the water to thefreezing beds through the limiting section c. The result is that aseries ofcakes are formed side by side in the tank, said cakes 8o beingas here shown entirely independent of each other, without beingseparated from each other by partitions or barriers. Hence after thefreezing operation the cakes can be moved horizontally toward one end ofthe tank without being raised from the bottom thereof.

The bottoni of the tank presents an unobstructed surface over which thecakes may slide. The cakes may therefore be accumulated at one end ofthetank,to be subsequently 9o removed, or the tank mayhave a removable endsectionthe removal of which forms an opening through which the cakes maybe slid without being raised from the bottom of the tank.

In practice, we prefer to arrest the freezing process before the topsurfaces of the cakes' reach the top surface of the water, so that afterthe cakes have been formed they maybe raised or iioated from the bottomo f the bed by the action of the remaining water. When this is done, thecakes after their liberation may be oated or carried to one end of thetank by imparting a movement to the water. To this end and for a furtherpurpose hereinafter stated we provide means for circulating the waterhorizontally in the tank so that the cakes may be driven or carried toone end thereof.

We have here shown as the water circulating means ascrew propeller fmounted on a shaft g which is journaled in the bearings in the tank andmay be rotated by means of a driving belt on a pulley h affixed to saidshaft. The propeller f is located in a fiume or passage t' formed at oneend of the tank and eX- tending across the same, said passage having anopenin g t" at one side of the partition ot to receive water from thetank, and an opening 112 at the opposite side of the partition a todeliver water to the tank. The propeller f is located between saidopenings t and t2, and is arranged to impart a movement to the watersuch as is indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. At the opposite end of thetank the partition a has an opening a2 through which water moves fromone end of one of the compartments of the tank to the corresponding endof the other compartment. By this arrangement the water is circulatedthrough all parts of thev tank and is not only caused to loat or impelthe cakes and accumulate the same after they have been liberated, butalso to brush the top surfaces of the cakes during the freezing processfor the purpose of removing the bubbles of air as fast as they areformed, and before they can be frozen into the ice.

It will be observed that the openings t" i2 are close to the bottom ofthe tank, and are so arranged relatively to the beds b as to compel aneffective movement of the water over the beds and over the ice thereonduring the entire freezing process, without regard to the height of theupper surfaces of the cakes. If said openings were located near the topof the body of water in the tank, the current caused by the action ofthe propeller would not be as effective during the rst part of thefreezing process, when the top surfaces of the cakes are near the bottomof the tank asit would be later.

If desired, the ice-limiting sections may be made of such width that thecakes of ice will extend over the said sections until portions of theends of the cakes meet and adhere between the beds. When this occurs, acontinuous cake will be formed, having transverse depressions or groovesin its top surface over the transverse sections c. Said grooves enablethe cake to be readily subdivided into smaller cakes of uniform size.

We claim- 1. An ice making tank havinga water space the bottom of whichis composed of a series of ice forming or generating beds andbedseparating ice-limiting strips or sections substantially ush with thebeds, said sectionsV limiting the horizontal extension of ice from thebeds, so that a series of independent cakes or a continuous cake havinggrooves in its top surface may be formed on the bottom of the tank.

2. An ice making tank having a waterspace, the bottom of which iscomposed of a series of ice forming or generating beds andbedsurrounding ice-limiting sections substantially flush with said beds,combined with means for moving or circulating water in said tank,substantially as and for the purposes specified.

3. An ice making tank having a water space centrally divided into twocompartments communicating with each other at the ends of the tank, thebottom of each compartment being composed of a series of ice forming orgenerating beds and bed-surrounding ice-limiting sections, combined witha propeller located in a transverse passage at one end of the tank andadapted to circulate the waterin the tank,

as set forth.

4. An ice-making tank having at one end a passage or casing containing awater circulating device, said casing communicating with the tankthrough openings close to the bottom of the tank.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 20th day of roo January,A. D. 1894.

WM. LEE CHURCH. SIDNEY A. REEVE. Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN,

ARTHUR W. CRossLEY.

